Isn't It Wonderful
by Lesmis13
Summary: "The hurt is not enough: I long for weight and strength to feel the earth as rough, to all my length." Beruyumi [BertXYmir] AU. This is a multi chapter story. :)


**_(A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first story for this fandom, and this is my first attempt at writing at Beruyumi story. I wrote this story for my sister who got me interested in the pairing. Anyways, this story is a college/university Au because I like college more better than high school. This story will be multi chapter. I hope you enjoy this story. I am sorry if there is any grammar and/or spelling mistakes.)_**

**_All the characters in this story belongs to Hajime Isayama._**

**_I must note that this chapter is heavily based on one of my favorite manga, Mars by Fuyumi Soryo. This story will not be an adaption of the manga. I just needed Bert and Ymir to meet by chance. So, yeah. I wanted to cite Fuyumi Soryo just because._**

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After passing Twentieth Street numerous times without seeing any signs of the University's medical center, Bertolt made a detour and headed to a nearby park. There, he sat on the first bench he saw. He pulled out his cell phone from his messenger bag and checked the messages that came in the past hour. There were three messages; all of them were from Reiner. In the latest text, which was sent ten minutes ago, Reiner told him that visiting hours were over at five. But, now it was a quarter to four. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed to himself, as he traced back his steps. The man with the crooked smile on Third Avenue had told him the medical center would be on the third right on Twentieth Street. Bertolt was on the right path; the medical center was in his view. Then, his fingers scrolled down to read the previous message from Reiner; he told Bertolt to get him McDonald's, a big Mac with large fries. And because of that message he ended up in the park; he swore that if not for the fact that he was going to the medical center to see Reiner; he would have stayed home and relax. He let out an exasperated sigh, and stuffed his phone in his pocket.

Frustrated, Bertolt got up from his seat on the bench, and wandered aimlessly through the park in search for a person to ask for directions. To his dismay, there were barely people in the park and the people that were in the park did not know where the medical center was. And when he thought that he ran out of options and luck, he spotted a young woman with shoulder length brown hair sitting on a bench, scribbling something on a notebook. He smiled and headed over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. The brunette woman turned around surprised, before collecting herself; an annoyed look appeared on her face.

"What do you want?" She closed the notebook as she placed her left leg over the other. "As you can see, I am a very busy person. So make it quick."

Bertolt fidgeted. "Do you know how to get to the medical center from here? A man told me the hospital was on the third right on Twentieth Street, but I still have not seen any signs of it."

She hummed, massaging her chin. "The medical center, you say? The streets in this city are out of whack, but that man was not wrong. You actually have to go on Fourteenth Street which is on your left." She pointed over to his left. "And when you get to it, take the first left; it is a short cut to Twentieth Street. Finally, on Twentieth Street, take the first right, and the medical center is right there." She looked at him. He seemed overwhelmed with the directions. The brunette woman opened her notebook to a blank page. "Better yet, I will draw it for you before you get lost again."

Bertolt raised his hands in protest. "No, I do not think that will be necessary; I will manage."

She raised a brow. "Sure, you will. But, I am just being on the safe side; a pretty boy like you should not be walking around aimlessly in these parts of this city." She winked.

Bertolt felt his face heating up. He covered his mouth in a failed attempt to hide his blush. Satisfied, the brunette woman smiled a sly smile. Bertolt shifted his weight on one leg. "W-what about you; you are a girl walking around these parts of this city as well?" He stammered.

She brought up a neat sketch of the layout of the city with the quickest route colored on it with blue ink. "I am used to this city; I was born and raised in it. So don't worry your pretty little head." She placed her notebook in her bag and stood up. She stood on her toes and patted him on the head. "You better get going. If I remember right, the visiting hours are over at five."

"Thanks…" He paused. He did not even know her name.

"Ymir" She turned around to face him. "My name is Ymir, pretty boy."

"Thank you, Ymir. My name is Bertolt."

She chuckled slightly. "Bertolt, that is an interesting name, but I like pretty boy better. Well, I guess I will see you around. I am late for work." With that, she swung her bag over her shoulders and took off.

"See you." He murmured. Ymir had disappeared off in the distance. With the map in his hand, he took off in the opposite direction to the medical center.

It did not take him that long to get to the medical center. He was able to make it in less than ten minutes. Inside, he checked in at the reception desk. The receptionist gave him a visitor pass with the room number that Reiner was in. He stuffed the map in his pocket and headed to his friend's hospital room. In the room, Reiner was watching television; there was a cast on his leg and his arm, but despite that the blonde man was fine, and better than when he was first admitted to the medical center. Bertolt shuddered at the memory; there was so much blood, and he was not sure if his dear childhood friend would last that long. But seeing his friend now in good health, Bertolt could not help but smile.

"I see that you are feeling much better." Bertolt knocked on the door frame, grabbing his friend's attention. The blonde man fumbled a little, the remote fell from his bed and dangled from the side, before collecting himself and straightening his posture.

"Yeah, much better than when I first came here. I am lucky to be alive; that accident could have killed me!" He smiled.

Bertolt pulled up a chair and placed it in front of Reiner's bed. He grabbed the McDonald's meal from his messenger bag and handed it over to him. "Sorry, it is cold but I got lost because you decided you wanted McDonald's."

"C'mon, the food that they serve here is not that great. Bert, did you really want me to die over here."

He laughed. "No, but you could have let me know before I headed out. I am not too familiar with this area."

"Well, you are familiar to it now! But, all jokes aside now, Bert, have you figured out what you want to do with your life or are you going to stick with me for the rest of your life?" He took a bite of his burger.

"Actually, I already decided to go into the medical field; I want to be a medical practitioner. But, thanks for the offer." Bert reached up to the stand near Reiner's bed and grabbed a tissue and gave it to his friend.

Reiner took the tissue and wiped his mouth with it before crumpling it into a ball along with the burger's wrapper and throwing it in the trash can. He made the shot; a hole in one. "That is so good to hear." He grabbed his taller friend into a headlock and messed with his hair. "My Bert is finally growing up."

"Thanks, but you are the one to talk." He said, struggling to get out of his friend's killer hold. "So, what are you going to do?"

The blonde man released his friend and slumped back in his bed. "I am not sure, yet. That accident really messed me up. But, I know that once I start my physical therapy session, I will figure something out. So do not worry your pretty little head, Bert." Reiner laughed. "Anyways, you said that you were lost. So, how did you manage to find your way here?"

"Oh! I had asked for directions from a young woman who was around our age, and in addition to telling me where to go, she drew a map." Bert dug into his pocket, and pulled out the slightly crumpled map, and gave it to Reiner. "She told me that she drew it so that I would not become lost again. She said it was not safe for a pretty boy like me to be walking around in these parts of the city."

Reiner raised a brow. "It sounds like she has a crush on you, Bert." He took the map and looked over the paper. As he did that, he noticed something on the back of it. He flipped it over and saw a picture. "Hey, Bert, have you notice there is a picture on the back of this?"

Bert took the map out his friend and looked at the picture. It was a picture of woman lying on the ground, she had a troubled look on her face, and her right arm was extending out as if she was reaching for something. Off to the side, and just barely, Bert noticed a hand reaching out for her hand. There were words written on the bottom of it. Overall, it was a beautiful picture. "She is amazing." He mumbled to him.

"Who is amazing?"

"The young woman who drew this map for me" Bertolt answered. "Her name was Ymir."

Reiner hummed. "That name sounds familiar for some reason."

Bert did not respond back; he was staring at picture reading the words at the bottom. It said "The hurt is not enough. I long for weight and strength to feel the earth as rough, to all my length." He did not understand what that meant. Was it from a poem? He thought so. He really wanted to know what the lines meant. He folded the paper and stuffed it neatly in his pocket. He glanced at his wrist watch. It read ten to five; visiting hours were almost over. He stretched and grabbed his messenger bag and swung it over his shoulders.

"Well, it looks like it is time for me to go home. I will see you later, Reiner." He smiled.

"Yeah, I will see you later."

Bert started to make his way to the door. When he was near the exit, Reiner called out to him.

"Have you told her yet?"

Bert did not turn around. His hand was on the doorknob. He let out an exasperated sigh as he thought about Annie. Oh Annie. He loved her since junior year of high school, but he never had the courage to tell her. "No." He tightened his grip on the doorknob.

"Are you ever going to tell her?" He asked, prying in.

He twisted the doorknob, and opened the door. He shook his head. "I am not sure, Reiner. But, I will see you later." With that he headed out the door and closed the door behind him.

Behind the closed door, Bert pulled out the paper and read the words on the bottom of it once again. He did not fully understand what it meant, but he could not help but feel that he could relate to it. He hoped he would see Ymir again.


End file.
